Traditional burial procedures involve excavating an individual grave site, placing a casket therein, and refilling the excavation site with soil. Such a technique is very wasteful of space because only a single grave site may be located at any one spot. Furthermore, the grave sites must be spaced laterally from each other by an amount sufficient to preserve the integrities thereof. One solution to the space disadvantages of the traditional burial procedure is to construct so-called "lawn crypts" or "underground burial fields." These lawn crypts are constructed by excavating a pit in the grounds of a cemetery and installing an array of individual burial chambers therein. Each burial chamber may have multiple tiers, typically two, or may have only one level. Typically, adjacent burial chambers share adjacent walls. Once the array of burial chambers is constructed, lids are placed on top of each chamber and the outer perimeter and top of the lawn crypt are covered with soil. When access to a particular burial chamber is desired, such as to place a casket therein, earth moving equipment removes the soil covering the particular burial chamber, exposing its lid. The lid is then removed, thereby allowing access to the chamber below. After the casket is placed in the chamber, this process is reversed. Examples of such lawn crypts are shown in U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,219 and U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,239.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,219 discloses a lawn crypt comprising an array of contiguous chambers formed by a plurality of load-bearing side panels and end panels supported on a base slab of reinforced concrete. Adjacent ones of the chambers share either one of the side panels or one of the end panels. A horizontal divider structure 100 within each of the chambers divides each chamber into an upper vault and a lower vault.
Referring to FIG. 1 of that patent, the side and end panels are joined together by angle connectors such as connector 123 which joins end panel 62 to side panel 46. Each of the side panels, such as 34, illustrated in FIG. 2 of that patent, is provided with two holes 88 and 90 positioned along the longitudinal centerline for each of the side panels. The side panels also include reinforcing bar, or rebar structure 128 and lifting inserts 124 and 126 cast therein. As illustrated in FIG. 1, horizontal rods 92 and 94 are inserted respectively into the holes 88 and 90 of the side panel 34 and corresponding holes in oppositely disposed side panel 46. Thus, the rods 92 and 94 are supported by the side panels 34 and 46. The end panels 52, 54, 56, 58, 60 and 62, illustrated in FIG. 3, each include a rebar structure 132 and a lifting insert 130 cast therein. The lawn crypt further includes a plurality of top panels (lids) such as 70, 72, 74, 76, 78 and 80, best illustrated in FIG. 4 of that patent. These top panels also have a rebar structure 138 cast therein and also have two lifting inserts 134 and 136. The lifting inserts are best illustrated in FIG. 6. When the crypt is constructed, and initially covered with earth, the divider 100 and the horizontal rods 92 and 94 are not in place.
As each grave site is required, earth moving equipment uncovers the top panel above the required chamber. Eye hooks are then inserted into the lifting inserts, such as 134 and 136 of a top panel 70. Once the top panel is lifted out of place, a casket is received into the lower vault 104 of the chamber 22. Next, the horizontal rods 92 and 94 are inserted into the respective holes in the side panels, such as 34 and 46. The horizontal divider 100 is then lowered into the chamber 22 to divide it into the upper vault 102 and the lower vault 104. The top panel 70 is then replaced and the earth fill returned to its original location.
The side panels, end panels and top panels (lids) in U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,219 are apparently cast off-site and trucked to the lawn crypt installation site.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,134,239 discloses a burial field system comprising one or more tiers of burial chambers formed from commonly shared wall sections placed on a concrete slab or floor.
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 of that patent, exemplary chamber 46 is defined by common wall sections such as 38, 40, 42 and 44. These wall sections also serve as wall sections for surrounding chambers 48, 50, 52 and 54. Adjacent wall sections are apparently butted up against each other and caulked. Upper and lower tiers of each chamber are separated by an intermediate cover, structure and the uppermost tier is covered by a cover member. For example, upper chamber 26 and lower chamber 24 are separated by intermediate cover structure 28 and the upper chamber 26 is covered by cover member 30.
FIG. 3 of that patent shows the details of construction. The burial chambers are formed from two different types of wall sections 58 and 60. The wall sections 60 have ledges 66 and 68 on opposite sides thereof. Starting from the bottom of a chamber and working upward, support strips 74 are placed on the concrete slab or floor to elevate the casket placed in the lower chamber slightly above the surface of the floor. Intermediate cover structures 28 formed from a plurality of cover sections 70 are placed along the ledges 66 and 68 to seal off the lower chamber from the upper chamber. (When the burial chamber is originally constructed and covered with earth, the cover sections 70 are not in place.) The uppermost tier of chambers is closed by separate cover members 30 which overlie their respective upper tier chambers. Each cover member 30 is provided with pairs of hooks or eyes 72 and 73 at its opposite ends so as to allow for easy locating and removal of the cover members 30 when access to a chamber is desired.
The process for initially preparing the grave site, and the process for gaining access to a chamber and reclosing the chamber after a burial is substantially identical to U.S. Pat. No. 4,648,219, described above.
One prior art technique for creating concrete-reinforced lids for covering burial chambers of lawn crypts is to set a form on the ground, place rebar in the form, tie the rebar together to keep it from moving when concrete is poured into the form, and then fill the form with concrete. Once the concrete has hardened, the form is removed and the lid is moved to the installation site. This technique has obvious disadvantages. First, the number of lids that can be made at one time is limited by the number of forms available and the availability of level ground on which to set the forms. Second, whether the lids are formed off-site and trucked to the installation site, or whether they are formed at the installation site, the lids must be lifted or moved from the forming location so that they can be placed on top of the burial chambers.
Heretofore, the prior art lawn crypts known to the inventor have been constructed from concrete walls, either cast off-site and trucked to the installation site or cast on-site by erecting forms and pouring concrete therein. On-site casting of walls is very time-consuming. It can typically take several months to cast all of the units in a large lawn crypt during which time a large excavated area is exposed to public view. Furthermore, employing concrete for constructing the walls results in significant material and labor costs, whether the walls are cast on-site or off-site. If the walls are cast off-site, they must be shipped and maneuvered into place, thereby significantly adding to the time and cost associated with building a lawn crypt.
Accordingly, there is still a need for a lawn crypt installation system which minimizes material costs and installation time and which can be erected using simple techniques and light-weight components which are easily fabricated and connected together. The present invention fills that need.